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Origin and history

The Château d'Epiry is a medieval building located in the town of Saint-Émiland, in Saône-et-Loire, on the side of the hillside. It preserves four round towers probably dating from the 14th century, as well as a 15th century house body. These elements reveal a polygonal plan typical of castles, organized around a central courtyard. Originally, a wall closed this courtyard, later replaced by a grid framed with stone lions, accessible by a bridge crossing still visible moat. The northwest tower features three stone steeples, while the southeast tower houses a 15th-century chapel, adorned with a flamboyant swimming pool and ancient stained glass windows, where Roger de Rabutin was named.

The medieval house body, located between the towers, offers a sober facade outside and more worked on the courtyard side. A second house, built in 1717, closed the courtyard to the east, with a classical facade marked by a triangular pediment and an oculus. This building extends the medieval wing and extends beyond the towers, forming an architectural harmony between the eras. The castle, a private property, has been classified as a Historic Monument since 1975, with an extension of protection in 2024 covering moat, grills, outbuildings and vegetable garden.

As early as the 12th century, the fief d'Epiry was attested by the lords of Epiry, who were related to the families of Montbard and Saint-Bernard. From the 14th century, the seigneury passed to the Rabutin, whose most famous representative, Roger de Rabutin (1618–93), writer and Count of Bussy, was born at the castle. In 1648 the widow of François de Rabutin sold the estate to the Count of Magdeleine of Ragny, whose descendants kept it until the Revolution. Repurchased in 1800 by the same family, the castle was finally ceded in 1824 to Antoine Bernard Carrelet de Loisy. Major transformations, such as the 1717 house corps, illustrate the evolution of the site between medieval fortress and aristocratic residence.

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